Arriving in Brighton the following week, Rochelle wondered if history would continue to repeat itself. Like the weeks before, she made her delivery and began to eat her lunch from her usual vantage point to see if things would happen as before. At first, it looked quite possible. The gang of youths were still loitering about the area unchallenged. At times she could overhear some of the foul language coming from their direction. However, after twenty minutes of observing and finishing her lunch, there was no sign of the vulnerable young man. Satisfied nothing was going to happen, she got up to leave although a thought occurred to her that it was a shame that the young man was not able to come around on account of these hooligans.
With her lunch break nearly over and content that she might have stopped this gang from harassing the weak, she got up to go. As she was doing so, something suddenly caught her eye. She spied an elderly couple walking towards the gang. A few seconds later, while she watched, her instincts proved to be right. The alpha-male and several others with him approached them. From where she stood, it seemed from the way the alpha-male was jumping up and down, they were being as aggressive to this harmless old couple as they had been to the vulnerable young man. Her first thought was to ring the police again but by now, she knew that would be pointless. Therefore, she decided to take matters upon herself.
Even before she had reached that decision in her mind, she was halfway across the road and like a shot was over to confront the gang. Before she even got there, she could hear the alpha-male bellowing, “You might have fought in the war but you still have to pay our toll to go past!” The fact that the elderly man was trying to stand his ground impressed her. After all, seventy-five years earlier, he had done the same against the Germans. However, his wife was advising him to hand over some money and not create a fuss. This couple needed saving!
Full of anger and determination, Rochelle stepped in between the couple and the alpha-male, slightly surprised and relieved that no one in the gang tried to confront her. Concluding she had the element of surprise, she balked, “Why don’t you leave these people alone!”
“What’s it to you? Bitch!” the alpha-male snapped. “You better walk away now or we’re going to fuck you up.”
Pushing aside her bemusement that this young man had seen too many films or television shows, she immediately squared up to him, sizing up her opponent in the process. She could now see that he was Five feet ten, three inches taller than she was and looked about seventeen or eighteen. His loose fitting clothes hid his true physique but that did not matter much to her. Rochelle had taken down larger opponents.
“What, you need a gang? You can’t take one woman on your own?” she chided in retort.
Her question was answered with a chorus of “Ooooh’s” from the gang with one male in the crowd stating, “I think she wants to fight you.”
Shrugging off the last comment while reaching into his pocket, the alpha male suddenly produced a shiny silver object and growled, “I’ll fucking stanley you!”
“What? Now you need to use a knife on me,” Rochelle answered back while taking a fighting stance in case he used the blade.
“Oooh, she thinks she’s real hard,” another male voice added sarcastically.
A female voice then rang out, “Just thump her one, she won’t be so brave then.”
Emboldened by his cheering section, the alpha male put his blade back in his pocket, then suddenly lashed out with a wild right. Seeing it coming all the way, Rochelle easily blocked it. More ‘oooh’s’ from the crowd encouraged him to strike out with his left but his target side-stepped causing him to miss badly. Seizing her chance, just like she had done with Amazon Glenda, Rochelle stepped in and hit pay dirt with a right to the young man’s temple and like her previous opponent, he too fell to the ground not to get up again.
Seeing their champion flat on his back, unconscious, indecision now gripped the gang. One boy proclaimed, “Fucking hell, she knocked him out!” Some thought they should avenge their fallen comrade while others sought to flee. Seeing Rochelle in a fighting stance, bouncing on the balls of her feet and looking full of adrenaline, from her quick victory, the gang chose the latter option and hastily withdrew leaving their defeated friend behind. However, once at a safe distance, a girl from the group shouted to Rochelle, “We’ll get you, you fucking bitch!”
The elderly couple could not thank Rochelle enough for her heroic actions but they were just as serious in advising her to leave as soon as possible. She did so but only after she was fully assured the couple were now going to be safe.
